On Sunday April 22, 2012, the Tiki Bar in Costa Mesa, California, turned into a juke joint for a few hours. Rip Cat Records recording artists, The 44s had their CD release party for their brand new CD, Americana. Music lovers from as far away as San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and, of course, Los Angeles counties made their way to the Tiki Bar to hear World Class Blues in the O.C.

When the loyal patrons of this concert series entered the building, they immediately noticed that the Tiki had been transformed into a blues bar, at least for a few hours anyway. The south wall of the main concert area was adorned with the photo artistry of Alex Gardner. Gardner’s gallery was made up of shots that were from previous World Class Blues performances at the Tiki Bar.

The spacious patio area had the sights, sounds and smells of a blues festival as Chris Corbett shared with the patrons of the Tiki his photos, as well as blues festival posters that, in some cases, date back three decades. It might be helpful to clarify the smells aspect of this equation. Velinda the Taco Girl and her able assistant Kim were grilling shrimp, chicken and Asian pork tacos. I felt it was my journalistic duty to sample these delicacies. For the record they were spectacular. Velinda is true artist in her own right.

As the show’s opener, The Brophy Dale Band, was loading in, I was walking through the sports bar portion of the establishment. Many of the blues fans were catching up with the Dodgers, Angels, Lakers and Kings who were all playing that afternoon. Fortunately, at least a dozen or so wide screen, hi- def, flat panel televisions were tuned into the various contests. I happened to glance over at one of the two pool tables and did a double take as the host of the World Class Blues in the O.C. ,John Reilly (J.R.), was shooting a game of pool with none other than Lynwood Slim.

It was great to see Slim. He has had to put his magnificent career on the shelf for several months while convalescing from some very serious health issues. Slim performed just two nights earlier at a benefit concert very near his home in Covina, some 50 or so miles away from Costa Mesa. On Sunday night, at the Tiki, he was the evening’s very, very special surprise guest.

Brophy Dale brought Lynwood Slim up to the stage at one point during his performance. Slim addressed the audience and told the crowd it felt good to be back. He acknowledged the fact that he was very appreciative of the benefit concert that was held at the Tiki Bar on his behalf last November. There was a time, not too long ago, when we thought we might never see him again, let alone be able to hear him perform. It was an emotional experience for me, as it was for anyone familiar with his health struggles. For Slim, it looked like a truly cathartic experience. He sounded wonderful.

After an intermission, The 44’s, consisting of Johnny Main on guitar and vocals, along with harp player Tex Nakamura, and the rhythm section of bassist Mike Turturro and drummer Jason Lozano took the stage. They were joined by the great two piece horn section of saxophonists Ron Dziubla on tenor and Troy Jennings on baritone. Guitarist Kid Ramos, who plays on and produced both 44s CDs, played with the band as well. Brophy Dale returned to the stage at one point to sit in with The 44s. Even Rip Cat Records’ founder and president, Scott Abeyta, made his way up to the bandstand to play with the band for a spell. His other gig is playing guitar for the band, White Boy James and the Blues Express. James was in the house also.

The down beat for The Brophy Dale Band was a little after 2pm as they launched into the Freddie King instrumental, Heads Up. The 44’s played their final encore just a little after 7:00 o’clock. The new earlier start time was a hit with the fans as they could hear several hours of live music and still get home at a very reasonable hour.

I caught up with J.R the next day and we discussed some of the things that have made these shows so special and have, in a relatively short time, garnered so much interest from the blues world. He said, “It is a lot of things actually, but it all begins and ends with the music. I named it World Class Blues in the O.C. so that we can be cognizant of the standard that the expression, ‘world class’ implies. In keeping with that standard the management of this establishment installed an $80,000 dollar sound system. The person I like to call the sixth man, Dennis the sound engineer is an important part of all of this. He works really closely with the musicians. They really appreciate working with a real pro and love what this room sounds like. I believe world class musicians deserve world class sound. I am very glad the fans recognize and appreciate this as well.”

Enjoy a photo essay from this great afternoon and evening of music by Alex Gardner, Chris Corbett and Mike Lovato. To find out about the May installment of this ongoing concert series check the tab that reads, World Class Blues in the O.C. - Coming Attractions.